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Papeete for the day.

Dimarie40

By Dimarie40,
in Pacific Islands, All

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Dimarie40

Dimarie40

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We will be on a Transpacific cruise which visits Moorea, Bora Bora and Papeete (Tahiti).  We have organised private excursions for Moorea  and Bora Bora but have nothing planned for our stop in Papeete.  Will there be locals at the port that will offer various things to do?  We'd quite like a drive around the island to see the waterfalls and the Marae with a stop to swim/snorkel somewhere if possible.  I have tried very hard to book a private excursion online however they are all booked up so now I'm thinking we should just wait and see?  Thoughts?

 

Alternately, how easy is it to access the lagoon to go swimming/snorkelling?  We will be snorkelling on both of the other islands and understand that the snorkelling is better there but if the opportunity is there to do it again in Tahiti then we might do that instead. I know there is shopping/markets etc close to the port which we can visit just by walking but would like to also see more of the island.  

 

Looking forward to hearing your suggestions.  Thanks in advance.

 

 

Edited by Dimarie40
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Petoonya

Petoonya

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Unfortunately the island of Tahiti, unlike Bora Bora and Moorea, is not known for having good snorkeling. There are boat tours that can take you to good snorkeling spots, and a few of the hotels that have decent reefs to snorkel, but not really any stand out beaches or locations that are easily accessed. We did a snorkel tour on Tahiti that  was very expensive but fantastic a few years back with Tahiti Lagoon Paradise. You can google them. Did their "shipwrecks" tour and it was wonderful. The meeting spot is about 10 miles from where your ship will dock so be great if you've rented a car. Avis car rental will give you a map that will point out some of the sights you'll want to stop at on a circle island tour.

 

Did you already check with Taina Tahiti tours for a tour of the island?

 

I've visited Tahiti several times most recently in December. But the island of Tahiti itself is not my favorite as I too am a swimmer/snorkeler and it doesn't have much of that. Once you've driven around the island, and done some hikes....unless you enjoy shopping and visiting museums there is not much to do. Our December trip was 17 days in FP with two days in Papeete. We took the opportunity to add extra days in Moorea by using the ferry which is right next to the cruise port. We did Moorea Activities Center jetski snorkeling tour and another day with terrific snorkeling at the Hilton Moorea. There are so many choices of things to do in Moorea we filled up four days on our cruise. Have fun!

 

Edited by Petoonya
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davwen81

davwen81

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Were using unique Tahiti tours on Moorea, look on Trip Advisor she gets great reviews. Personally I’d jump back on the ferry to Moorea and do. Circle island tour or lagoon tour whichever you didn’t do on your day there. 

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Dimarie40

Dimarie40

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1 hour ago, Petoonya said:

Unfortunately the island of Tahiti, unlike Bora Bora and Moorea, is not known for having good snorkeling. There are boat tours that can take you to good snorkeling spots, and a few of the hotels that have decent reefs to snorkel, but not really any stand out beaches or locations that are easily accessed. We did a snorkel tour on Tahiti that  was very expensive but fantastic a few years back with Tahiti Lagoon Paradise. You can google them. Did their "shipwrecks" tour and it was wonderful. The meeting spot is about 10 miles from where your ship will dock so be great if you've rented a car. Avis car rental will give you a map that will point out some of the sights you'll want to stop at on a circle island tour.

 

Did you already check with Taina Tahiti tours for a tour of the island?

 

I've visited Tahiti several times most recently in December. But the island of Tahiti itself is not my favorite as I too am a swimmer/snorkeler and it doesn't have much of that. Once you've driven around the island, and done some hikes....unless you enjoy shopping and visiting museums there is not much to do. Our December trip was 17 days in FP with two days in Papeete. We took the opportunity to add extra days in Moorea by using the ferry which is right next to the cruise port. We did Moorea Activities Center jetski snorkeling tour and another day with terrific snorkeling at the Hilton Moorea. There are so many choices of things to do in Moorea we filled up four days on our cruise. Have fun!

 

 

1 hour ago, davwen81 said:

Were using unique Tahiti tours on Moorea, look on Trip Advisor she gets great reviews. Personally I’d jump back on the ferry to Moorea and do. Circle island tour or lagoon tour whichever you didn’t do on your day there. 

 

Thank you both for your suggestions of Taina Tahiti and Unique tours.  They were both crossed off my list a month or two ago as they are already fully booked.  I was hoping there would be locals at the port that we could use to take us for a drive around the island. We really don't want to hire a car. 

 

Petoonya, thanks for the suggestion about taking the ferry back over to Moorea for another excursion there.  I will definitely look into this as it sounds like a great option and perhaps the best one.  

 

Thank you again.

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Petoonya

Petoonya

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1 hour ago, Dimarie40 said:

 

 

Thank you both for your suggestions of Taina Tahiti and Unique tours.  They were both crossed off my list a month or two ago as they are already fully booked.  I was hoping there would be locals at the port that we could use to take us for a drive around the island. We really don't want to hire a car.

 

 

One more promising option for you that you may not have tried yet. Our friends just returned from the same Windstar cruise we took and while they were in Papeete. They used Yota Tahiti and raved about the guide. https://www.yotatahiti.com/index.php/en/

He gets very good reviews on Tripadvisor too.

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Dimarie40

Dimarie40

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2 hours ago, Petoonya said:

One more promising option for you that you may not have tried yet. Our friends just returned from the same Windstar cruise we took and while they were in Papeete. They used Yota Tahiti and raved about the guide. https://www.yotatahiti.com/index.php/en/

He gets very good reviews on Tripadvisor too.

 

Thank you so much.  I have emailed him and have my fingers and toes crossed. 

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sippican

sippican

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On 3/29/2019 at 6:44 PM, Dimarie40 said:

 

 

Thank you both for your suggestions of Taina Tahiti and Unique tours.  They were both crossed off my list a month or two ago as they are already fully booked. 

 

FWIW, I contacted Unique Tahiti and was informed that they do not do tours in Moorea.; Tahiti only.

Edited by sippican
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laurieb

laurieb

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On 3/28/2019 at 11:29 PM, Dimarie40 said:

We will be on a Transpacific cruise which visits Moorea, Bora Bora and Papeete (Tahiti).  We have organised private excursions for Moorea  and Bora Bora but have nothing planned for our stop in Papeete.  Will there be locals at the port that will offer various things to do?  We'd quite like a drive around the island to see the waterfalls and the Marae with a stop to swim/snorkel somewhere if possible.  I have tried very hard to book a private excursion online however they are all booked up so now I'm thinking we should just wait and see?  Thoughts?

 

Alternately, how easy is it to access the lagoon to go swimming/snorkelling?  We will be snorkelling on both of the other islands and understand that the snorkelling is better there but if the opportunity is there to do it again in Tahiti then we might do that instead. I know there is shopping/markets etc close to the port which we can visit just by walking but would like to also see more of the island.  

 

Looking forward to hearing your suggestions.  Thanks in advance.

 

 

When are you going?

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Tahitianbigkahuna

Tahitianbigkahuna

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Personally on Tahiti I would rent a car and circle the island. The waterfalls a spectacular  … the cultural museum is interesting, Venus Point is a good stop. Some good temple sites to be seen and the flora is ever changing. Get off the beaten trek and drive around the entire island. Bring your swim/snorkel gear as there are a few places you might want to take a dip in. Avis is the most accessible rental place from the ship dock. Though they will come and get you with a shuttle it is probably wise to just walk to their office as it will likely be very busy around the ship are especially if your on a large ship and it sounds like to are. I've attached a few PDF files to point you in the right direction and to give you a few ideas close by if you don't rent a car but I encourage you to do so. As it will likely be very busy around the ship area my guess is there will not be many vendors waiting there to offer tours, I've never seen many in the past.  

Around the ship dock area of Papeete.pdf cars.pdf

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Dimarie40

Dimarie40

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We have returned from our Transpacific on the Solstice from Sydney to Hawaii.  It was a wonderful trip and I hope to do it again one day, perhaps in the reverse order.

 

As for Papeete, we ended up going on a circle island tour with Kevai tours.  It was booked in advance. We had a great day.  It was a private 4+ hour tour for 6 people and cost $600 USD in total.  Our guide was knowledgeable and funny and it was just the right amount of time spent driving around and looking at things.  We had lots of stops where we could take photos, grab a drink or a nibble.

 

The only problem we had with Papeete was that we were in port on Easter Monday and almost everything was closed however there were some markets and dancers plus a few of the stores along the front opened as well.  

 

Our favourite stop of course was Bora Bora.  The water was exquisite.  We used Patrick's on that day and it was fabulous.  They run a smooth operation and we had a great time with them.

 

Moorea came a very close second.  We used Moorea Miti tours and they were a highlight.  We had the most charming guide, Wilfred who taught us so much about the island and gave us the best day out swimming with sharks and rays, snorkelling the coral reefs, learning about medicinal plants, weaving hats, making poisson cru, singing island songs and making us laugh and laugh.  I simply cannot recommend this company enough.  

 

All three days spent in French Polynesia were wonderful and I am currently looking at flights to go back again and spend a week rather than just 3 days.  We are so lucky to have had this experience and if you get the chance to visit I highly recommend it. 

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Jandex

Jandex

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We’ve recently been to Papeete on Transpacific cruise from

Sydney to Honolulu. We had Unique Tahiti booked in Papeete. However there were plenty of tours being offered on the pier for those who had not pre-booked. 

You will not miss out by not having a tour pre-organised. 

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croosieloosie

croosieloosie

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On 5/22/2019 at 10:18 AM, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

Personally on Tahiti I would rent a car and circle the island. The waterfalls a spectacular  … the cultural museum is interesting, Venus Point is a good stop. Some good temple sites to be seen and the flora is ever changing. Get off the beaten trek and drive around the entire island. Bring your swim/snorkel gear as there are a few places you might want to take a dip in. Avis is the most accessible rental place from the ship dock. Though they will come and get you with a shuttle it is probably wise to just walk to their office as it will likely be very busy around the ship are especially if your on a large ship and it sounds like to are. I've attached a few PDF files to point you in the right direction and to give you a few ideas close by if you don't rent a car but I encourage you to do so. As it will likely be very busy around the ship area my guess is there will not be many vendors waiting there to offer tours, I've never seen many in the past.   

Around the ship dock area of Papeete.pdf 401.28 kB · 32 downloads cars.pdf 106.38 kB · 22 downloads

I'd be interested in doing that. is there a place i can get information to plan a self drive tour?

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